Makuvire wins Southland Cross Country Championship

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Bradley Makuvire won the 2021 Southland Conference Cross Country Championship men’s 8k race in 24:11.44 for Southeastern Louisiana University Friday morning at Islander Cross Country Course on the campus of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Makuvire, a Zvishavane, Zimbabwe native, has won all four races he’s competed in this year. The sophomore won the LSU Invitational 6k, the Nicholls Invitational 4-mile and the Watson Invitational 8k culminating with Friday’s conference title.

“I have been working very hard this year,” said Makuvire. “And I am excited to win this conference championship for Southeastern. Coach O’Callaghan (SLU distance running coach Clayton O’Callaghan) and I are continuing to build our relationship and I’m very excited for his commitment to me and my long range goals. We still have a lot of work to do this season starting with the NCAA Regionals in two weeks.”

Friday’s win caps off an unbelievable six-week stretch for Makuvire. The newly crowned Southland champion and Southland Cross Country Male Athlete of the Year won the conference athlete of the week award twice and was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week following his win at the Watson Invitational.

“Bradley has been an exceptional leader for both squads during this transition period,” said SLU cross country head coach Corey Mistretta. “He has developed into a national level competitor and won every race this season, been named national athlete of the week, and capped the regular season with a dominant victory today. I am extremely proud of what he brings every day.”

Makuvire outlasted a field of 65, including runner-up finisher Kevlin Kimayio of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi who finished in a time of 24:17.51.

McNeese won the team championship with five runners finishing in the top 16 while UIW finished runner up.

In the women’s 6k race, SLU’s Bridgette Tournoux was the top finisher for the Lady Lions. A&M-Corpus Christi took the team crown with UNO finishing second. Individually, UIW’s Abby Gray won the title finishing in 21:30.39.

“I’m very pleased with the effort from both our men’s and women’s teams,” said Mistretta. “Over the past year, we’ve faced lot of adversity and handled it very well. After last season, with the full support of coach Artigues, (SLU athletic director Jay Artigues) we made a commitment to change the culture within the distance program with a coaching change and a focus on rebuilding. The entire group has remained committed to the program and their new coach (O’Callaghan) for the entire season and we have improved greatly. As we move into the future, the Lion Nation can be certain that we, along with the administration, will remain committed to building both cross country teams into perennial leaders. The future is extremely bright.”

Next up, Makuvire will begin preparation for the NCAA Division I Cross Country Regionals Friday, Nov. 12th in Waco, Texas on the Campus of Baylor University.